Born in the USSR in 1970, Russian by both nationality and ethnicity, and as such, have my own opinion on everything.
People, just try to think different. Maybe it won't make you happier, but the world will be a much better place to live in, if populated by thinking people.

Tuesday, November 03, 2015

The Icon of Grief

I have waited for some days, to have my feelings somehow settled a bit.

It was yesterday that my country had an official mourning for victims of the (still) unclear Metrojet A321 crash over the Sinai Peninsula that took away 224 lives in a terrible minute or so on October 31.

But for all those who lost their friends and relatives, grief, sorrow and mourning will last; sometimes for ever.

This photo of 10 months old Darina Gromova was uploaded to Vkontakte 15 days before the crash, when the young and happy family of Gromovs headed to Egypt from Saint-Petersburg, to spend an unforgettable two weeks vacation. The baby was wondering at those huge white metal birds. Mom Tatiana called her "the chief passenger"; so she was on their flight back, the youngest one aboard.

We do not see her face; we needn't. The image leaves enough space for us to think, and mourn those gone. We are waiting for the moment the baby looks back, in the camera, but at the same time we are afraid of this moment: we're afraid to see the face of someone we know and love. But she will never look back...

In just two days the image became the icon of grief and sorrow. She could be any nation and race; people are the same human beings, and share the same emotions.

I am sure for many people around this image will remain the image of the year... Or life. Just because it's story makes it a true symbol of the pure human sorrow. And sorrow, empathy, compassion are the things that make human beings humane.

Rest in peace, you little angel. Your life was short as a spark's flight; but it looks like it has made the world a little bit brighter.